Now there's word the shoe industry may be responsible for claiming another victim - a potential Chicago Bulls dynasty.

Barring miraculous career-best seasons by every player on the Magic roster, Dwight Howard will continue to quietly demand out of Orlando. He's listed three teams for which he'd assuredly sign a contract extension: the Los Angeles Lakers, New Jersey Nets and Dallas Mavericks.

Chicago is not one of those three franchises. The Bulls do have, according to nearly every observer, the greatest combination of trade assets in exchange for the Magic center of any team. They also have Derrick Rose, the reigning MVP. Who, combined with Howard, would form one of the greatest two-man combos the game has ever seen.

The last time such a debilitating twosome formed - Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal - the Lakers won back-to-back-to-back championships.

Thus the following question: Why?

Why would Howard not entertain the idea of playing in a big market with a devoted fan base and one of the most unstoppable players in the league?

Adidas has thrown the bulk of their basketball shoe endorsement empire behind two players. These two players just happen to be Howard and Rose. Combining their advertising forces could prove costly for the company.

"Adidas simply cannot have its two signature players on the same team in the same market," a "high-ranking sneaker executive" told Wojnarowski. "Derrick is the face of that market, owns that market, and Adidas can't possibly have maximum bang for its buck with Dwight there."

Rose is the star - on the court and off.

His face can be found up and down the streets of Chicago - from the south side to Wrigleyville to the shops on Madison Avenue. While he'll never be the gregarious prankster Howard is, he has evolved from a shy individual into a marketer's dream.

According to Wojnarowski's source, Adidas is working on a lifetime shoe deal to make Rose one of, if not, the highest-paid shoe endorsers in NBA history.

Howard's Adidas contract also happens to be up for renewal in the coming year. And while the company considers Howard an "outstanding partner" and maintains they're "completely supportive" with whatever he chooses, there is no denying he has less value to Adidas with Rose than without.

This could easily play a role in his next shoe contract negotiation. By joining the Bulls, Howard would relinquish some of the marketing power he'd have in Hollywood or Brooklyn.

Whether this has actually played a role in Howard's decision-making is debatable. But his decision to discount the Bulls for basketball reasons isn't.

Money talks. For that, it looks like Howard will walk away from a potential dynamic Chicago duo.

And he'll be doing it all the way to the bank in a pair of his Adidas sneakers.